Review: Bugdom

By: Kirk Hiner

Genre: Action

Format: CD

Developer: Pangea Software

Publisher: Pangea Software

Minimum Requirements: 603/200MHz, System 8, 32MB RAM, ATI 3D Acceleration

Network Feature: No

3Dfx Support: RAVE

Retail Price: $37.95

Availability: Out now

Here's something kind of funny. At one time, my sister thought the Pastor's name at our church was Bug Spray. His name is actually Budd Sprague, but we've called him Bug since the day when my sister first misunderstood him.

Here's something else that's funny. What's brown and sticky?

More on that later on. First I should get to the review for Bugdom.

Bugdom is the latest game from Pangea Software, creators of Nanosaur. As with Nanosaur, Bugdom is designed exclusively for use with ATI 3D Acceleration. You'll recall that Nanosaur was released with the iMac to show off its video capabilities. Now Bugdom will be preinstalled on Apple's new iBook. I like this. Every time Pangea releases a new game, Apple should give us a new product to show it off...or vice versa, depending upon where your allegiances lie. Me? My allegiances lie with Laffy Taffy. You not only get the taffy, you see, but you also get the laughy.

But back to Bugdom. This gorgeous game is set inside the Bugdom, where you as Rollie McFly have set out to end the tyrannical rule of the evil King Thorax. To do so, you must journey through ten levels, taking you through gardens, ponds, anthills and many other worlds of the insect kingdom. Along the way, you'll have to battle bugs such as spear throwing ants, dimwitted slugs and some kind of crazy flying insect with boxing gloves...and that's on the first level alone! But don't fret just yet. You will get some help as you venture forth. Viva Apis mellifera!

There are many aspects to Bugdom which bear mentioning, so I'll get right to it. First comes the music. See, I'm big into music. As it is in movies, nothing can evoke emotion like a good musical score can. In my opinion, that's the single greatest justification for technological advance in the gaming industry. I can deal with poor graphics and sub-par gameplay provided the soundtrack is enough to trick me into thinking the action in the game is better than it is. Logicware's Killing Time is a perfect example. Decent graphics, average gameplay, excellent music...positive review. Bugdom's music is fantastic. The opening credits and cut scenes are reminiscent of Jerry Goldsmith's scores from movies such as "Medicine Man," while the action scores are 100% Danny Elfman. Great stuff.

But Bugdom does not have to rely on the music to carry it through. The graphics are not only rich in detail, but exquisitely colored. Most games with the 3D acceleration tend to be dark or drab; not Bugdom. Nope. Bright greens, yellows and reds light up the screen like a second grade bulletin board, and the insects are drawn in a way that makes even King Thorax seem as huggable as Talking Po. But cute as they may be, these bugs kick butt. To survive, you've not only got to be quick, but you also have to master yet another method of moving around.

Which brings up this point. I'm going to form a committee/task force to create a standard for keyboard controls in computer games. It seems that every game I play in which I must move a character around and punch/kick/shoot things requires me to use different keys to do so. What's worse, many don't allow you to remap the keys, so I'm forced to adapt my style every time I play a new game. Bugdom is the worst about this. Hitting the right key doesn't simply cause Rollie to turn right, it makes him move that direction. He could be running east while the camera's facing north. Even worse, hitting the key to have him back turns him around completely and makes him run towards you. Unfortunately, the camera does not turn with him so you cannot see where he's heading. To turn the camera around, you have to do so manually; an action that pulls your hand away from the all-important jump and action keys. This is especially difficult to deal with when you've rolled Rollie into a ball for high speed maneuverability. You do get used to it, but just once I'd like to play a game that I don't have to get used to.

Forgive my misplaced preposition.

I suppose that one of the greatest aspects of Bugdom is that it's one of the first games that really can be enjoyed by both children and adults. Children will enjoy the characters and colors, while adults should be impressed with the gameplay. It's got all of the heart and guts of Unreal, only they actually tend to stay inside the bodies of the characters in Bugdom. Sure, the other insects may throw spears and rocks and such at you, but they never penetrate your shell. And pretty much your entire defense against them is to kick their shins.

So if you like action, but you like it light, than Bugdom is for you. It's for those days when you'd rather have a Sprite than a Coke, or listen to OMD over ICP. And come on, you know you all want to sometimes. And hey, if you're looking for that final reason to justify the purchase of an iBook, Bugdom just may be it.

Oh yeah, I'm almost forgot; still wondering what's brown and sticky? A stick.

Come on, you'll laugh tomorrow.

Raised on Intellivision and "Tron," Kirk Hiner has been an avid gamer ever since he was tall enough to look through the viewfinder on the Battlezone upright. Although he makes a living using a PC (not by choice) to design websites for Dynamics Online, Inc., Kirk never strays from his 9600/200 or 3400c for computer gaming. When he's not playing the latest Logicware release, he can either be found working on his next "never to be published" novel, rereading anything by Kurt Vonnegut or watching RAW is WAR.

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February 09, 2010